Tesco pay uproar proves we should buy from retailers that pay female staff fairly

Some employers think cashiers (mostly women) should be paid less than warehouse and distribution staff (mostly men)

The biggest equal pay claim in Britain has just been launched on behalf of Tesco employees – almost 100 shop workers are paid up to £3 an hour less than staff in the warehouses. On Sundays, most are only paid time and a half, whereas the warehouse staff get double pay.

The ruling will apply to almost 200,000 Tesco staff and could cost the company £4bn. Similar claims are also being heard against Asda and Sainsbury’s.

In the cut-throat price wars of food retailing, it is these frontline people who make the difference, and encourage customers to return to the store.

Plus, retailers are belatedly recognising that much of middle management is becoming redundant – Debenhams is cutting 320 jobs and Tesco is losing 800. At Morrisons, 700 staff face relocation or redundancy, while 468 workers face the same fate at Marks and Spencer.

A fight for equality is on the rise, the recognition that women are a valuable part of the workforce. In the meantime, why not choose to shop where women are paid fairly?

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